The growth of IT in people's daily lives has made them more
cynical about politics, the shadow secretary of state for culture,
media and sport said yesterday.
Jeremy Hunt, MP for south west Surrey, said the growth of
technology has enabled people to take more control over their
lives, but at the same time government has tried to increase
control and centralisation.
He said, "The political world has not kept up with the
technological world, so people are getting more and more
disenchanted with the political class.
"It is an incredibly important, fundamental issue which does not
get as much attention as it should."
He said the UK has been "complacent" about the impact of
technology on society. One priority for a Conservative government
would be, he said, to establish protocols for the handling of
personal information in a bid to increase trust in government.
"One of the things Conservatives will need to do in government
is establish protocols for the handling of personal information so
people know exactly what will happen with it, feel they have
control and know that it will not be shared without their
consent."
The shadow secretary of state was speaking at a Conservative
party conference fringe meeting, hosted by the Centre for Policy
Studies, looking at the effect the internet is having on politics
and government.
Paul Morris, head of government affairs for Microsoft UK, said a
"cultural shift" was needed in the way politics interacts with
technology. "I do not think technology has been used very well in
politics or government. Most MPs use e-mail, and maybe have a
website. The websites are very textual and really appeal only to
the politics-obsessed.
"We have got a long way to go. It is almost a cultural shift
that we need. We need our government to free up our information. We
need politicians to start feeling free enough to start saying
things that are interesting - if it is just about trying to get the
party line or propaganda across, it is boring."
He added that the
privacy debate over holding personal information on large
databases is "starting to take off". The government should make
it possible to opt out of the schemes, and inform citizens about
what information is held on them, he said. "We need choice, and in
the public sector, we do not get that."
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